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Unemployment Experiences of Young Men: on the Road to Stable Employment?

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  • Adriaan S. Kalwij

Abstract

This study examines the unemployment experiences of young men in the United Kingdom over the period 1982.IV–1998.I. The empirical results show that repeated unemployment is a dominant feature of the UK labour market and that individual heterogeneity affects mainly the incidence of unemployment and only to a much lesser extent the duration of unemployment. We estimate that about 73% of the young unemployed find stable employment before the age of 35. The remaining 27%, concentrated among the lower‐skilled, keep returning into unemployment, suggesting structural employment instability. These findings imply that a labour market programme targeted at increasing the employability of the young unemployed would yield long‐term benefits by not only getting them out of unemployment but also keeping them out of unemployment.

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  • Adriaan S. Kalwij, 2004. "Unemployment Experiences of Young Men: on the Road to Stable Employment?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 66(2), pages 205-237, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:obuest:v:66:y:2004:i:2:p:205-237
    DOI: 10.1046/j.0305-9049.2003.00097.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Achim Schmillen & Joachim Möller, 2009. "Determinants of Lifetime Unemployment - A Micro Data Analysis with Censored Quantile Regressions," Working Papers 275, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    3. Kilhoffer, Zachary & Beblavý, Miroslav & Lenaerts, Karolien, 2018. "Blame it on my youth! Policy recommendations for re-evaluating and reducing youth unemployment," CEPS Papers 13342, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    4. Dorsett, Richard, 2014. "The effect of temporary in-work support on employment retention: Evidence from a field experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 61-71.
    5. Dr Richard Dorsett, 2013. "Can Post-Employment Services Combined with Financial Incentives Improve Employment Retention for Welfare Recipients? Evidence from the Texas Employment Retention and Advancement Evaluation," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 409, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
    6. Dorsett, Richard & Lucchino, Paolo, 2018. "Young people's labour market transitions: The role of early experiences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 29-46.
    7. Jouko Verho, 2005. "Unemployment Duration and Business Cycles in Finland," Working Papers 214, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    8. Schmillen, Achim & Möller, Joachim, 2012. "Distribution and determinants of lifetime unemployment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 33-47.
    9. Ralf Wilke, 2009. "Unemployment Duration in the United Kingdom: An Incomplete Data Approach," Discussion Papers 09/02, University of Nottingham, School of Economics.
    10. Dr Richard Dorsett, 2013. "Can Post-Employment Services Combined with Financial Incentives Improve Employment Retention for Welfare Recipients? Evidence from the Texas Employment Retention and Advancement Evaluation," National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Discussion Papers 409, National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

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